Idyll Days
by Lionchilde
Summary: Sequel to Fire and Water and Rediscovered Hearts. A loosely interconnected series of fics similar to the Interlude and In the Moment sets. DV, SJ. COMPLETE.
1. The Creature

I figured that since readers on Livejournal have had these for more than a year, there was no real harm in posting them here too. They were written over the same time period that I wrote Rediscovered Hearts, but take place after both RH and its planned follow up fic, Beyond Breaking. I do have explanations for things like the fact that the team don't seem to have aged as much as they probably should since the kids are getting older, and how exactly the kids learned about the Stargate Program. Trust me, it will be explained in Beyond Breaking. Think of this as a glimpse into the future of the AU. No, I _cannot_ write in chronological order. In this story, Manda is 10. Carter is therefore 9, and Nicky is 8. **Possible spoilers for Beyond Breaking**

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"I'm not sure what it is, sir," Carter responded, peering at the strange being that was now tied up against the massive, twisted trunk of the tree in the center of the alien jungle. "The ship crashed just over that rise. Never seen anything quite like it. The technology really is fascinating. I don't think the Asgard even have anything like those bubble ships…"

"What's that thing on its…uh…forehead? Is that a forehead?" the CO asked, frowning and bending cautiously toward the creature.

"Yeah, I think it's a forehead," nodded the thoughtful figure on the other side of it. "Listen, do we have to keep it tied up like this?"

"Well, whadda you wanna do, Jackson? Leave it loose so it can attack the people in the village?"

"Well…no…but we don't have any reason to think it's going to do that, do we? Just because we don't understand something doesn't…"

A shrill whistle cut off the rest of the sentence and all three spun around, raising their arms to shield their faces from the sun as they peered toward the white house in the distance. A man appeared on the deck, then quickly walked down into the tall grass, his arms rising as he cupped his hands in front of his mouth.

"Hey!" Jack O'Neill shouted toward the treehouse. "Will you kids untie Teal'c and get in here! Its time to eat!"

"Okay, okay, we're coming, Dad…" Carter sighed, bending to pick up the supersoaker he'd just finished using to help "subdue" the Jaffa warrior. Slinging it over his shoulder, he dashed off toward the house, leaving the other two to release their victim.

"Thought I told you to _untie_ T," Jack remarked, giving his son's backside a light swat as the boy raced up the steps.

Watching him go, the brother-sister pair by the tree only sighed and turned to release their prisoner. Teal'c made a show of rubbing his wrists and glaring at the "commander" before turning toward the girl with a deep bow.

"Thank you for attempting to secure my release, AmandaJackson," he rumbled.

She took a half step back and returned the bow, then both turned and ran off after Carter. Jack, by then, was walking back inside, and they ducked under his arms, squeezing past on either side to thunder into the kitchen.

"Next time, I get to be team leader, Nicky," Carter declared as they slammed up against the kitchen sink on either side of him and thrust their hands under the faucet. 


	2. Discovery

Kneeling in the damp soil, Dr. Daniel Jackson let out a long breath and sat back on his heels. "Sure is hot," he commented, raising his forearm to wipe away the sweat that was beginning to trickle down his forehead despite the bandana.

"Mmm," his colleague murmured absently.

Curious, Daniel turned toward her, eyes widening at the sight of the dirt-encrusted piece of pottery she was examining. He carefully pushed himself to his feet and crossed the small stone walkway separating them.

"Looks intact," she said with a touch of surprise.

"Not even a crack," Daniel agreed. "That's--that's pretty amazing..."

"And see this?" her finger stretched cautiously toward the artifact, outlining the faintly visible decorative pattern. "I'd say this could be early 4th Dynasty."

Daniel pursed his lips and bent down again, leaning over her shoulder to frown at the plate in her hands. "I don't…know…" he started to say, then broke off with a sigh of exasperation as Vala shoved her head out the window over them.

"Daniel, did you…? Oh, Daniel, not my good dishes again!"

"It was his idea!" Manda cried instantly, abandoning the plate and spinning to jab an accusing finger at her father's chest.

"Traitor!" he replied with a mock-scowl. Then, craning his neck to look up at his wife, he said earnestly, "It was the one we couldn't find last time, remember?"

"Oh, and I suppose that makes it all right…" Vala sighed, drumming her fingers on the window sill. "Listen, get in here and clean up, both of you. You're supposed to be picking Nicky up from soccer practice, Daniel, and you…" she added, fixing a momentary glare on their daughter. "You need to be washed and changed before Teal'c gets here to play."

"All right, all right," Daniel rolled his eyes, his hands sliding under Manda's arms to pluck her off the ground. "C'mon, Monkey…"

"You know, Manda," Vala continued teasingly as the little girl's legs wrapped around Daniel's waist and he tromped noisily up the steps. "I expect as much from your father, really, but you ought to know better."

"Oh, nice, Vala," Daniel muttered, and Manda quickly reached up to hold closed his lips, forestalling further commentary. Daniel gave an exaggerated frown and pushed out his lips in a pout of disapproval.

"Oh, Dad, wait!" Manda cried, wriggling back out of his arms. She hit the kitchen floor at a run, her dirty sneakers squeaking on the linoleum as she raced outside again. "I forgot Mom's plate!"

Vala hid a laugh behind her hand, and Daniel turned to her, his expression softening into a smile. "Sorry," he said sheepishly as he walked over to the window, resting his hands against the sill on either side of her.

She tilted her head, reaching to wipe the dirt from his cheek with the palm of her hand. "I think I like the dirty look on you," she winked.

Daniel's smile widened, and he lowered his head to meet her lips when the crash of shattering china made them both jump. Vala twisted around, her head popping back out the window to be followed a moment later by Daniel's.

"You okay?" they shouted together.

"Well…" Manda said, scrunching her face to peer down at the scattered shards on the walkway in front of her. "it _was_ intact." 


	3. Absolutely

**Absolutely**

"Do you know what I like best about Christmas trees?" Vala asked in a conspiratorial tone. Her voice was low, barely reaching Daniel's ears as he stumbled, still half asleep, off the stairs. Stifling a yawn, he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe and smiled, slightly surprised at his own contentment.

Vala, naturally, had taken his comfortable robe off the bedroom door when she got up, leaving him with the threadbare old one. He'd given up suggesting that she wear her _own_ bathrobe, knowing what the response would be. Instead, he'd just started keeping a second. Their son in his blue Scooby Doo pajamas made her the perfect accomplice, and Daniel restrained the urge to go in, quietly watching to see what the pair were up to now.

This would be Nicky's eighth Christmas, which Daniel had been anticipating with a fair amount of dread. He'd gotten through Manda's eighth Christmas two years ago without anyone but Vala guessing how difficult it had been, but there was something about Nicky's relationship with her that made him expect this time to be worse. Even on ordinary days, he sometimes felt his breath catch as he watched the two of them together.

They were both on their hands and knees on the floor, rearranging the tracks to the train set that Daniel had just spent most of Christmas Eve putting together. Their dark heads bent over it, almost touching, and she had to move quickly back to avoid being bonked as he paused to give the tree a speculative look.

"They have presents under them?" he asked.

Vala shook her head and reached out to slowly pull a strand of tinsel off the nearest branch. She held it between their faces and blew lightly, eliciting a giggle from the boy as it tickled his nose. "It's how they shimmer," she winked. "Like diamonds. Always remember that a girl loves diamonds, Nicky."

Daniel covered his face with his hand, shaking his head, but managed to check the sigh that would have given his presence away. Of all the aspects of Vala's personality that he did not want to see in their children, her materialism was probably the biggest. Nicky, fortunately, seemed unaffected, and crawled off to lay a loop of track around the Nativity scene. He stopped again a few moments later, this time examining first the infant Christ and then the Wise Men.

"Is it true, Mom?" he asked, more curious than skeptical as he slowly looked up to indicate the star atop the tree. "How they followed a star to find the baby?"

Daniel bit his lip. Hammond and Landry had somehow always believed it. Even Mitchell did. What was it he'd said?

_Look, just because we know there's some beings on a higher plane of existence than ourselves does not mean there's not an order of Being higher than them. _

But after all he'd seen, all he found it possible to believe, Daniel had to admit he wasn't sure. In fact, he probably hadn't been since the accident. For him, here were too many holes in that story--one of the biggest being the rift in his life that he had never been more conscious of than on his own eighth Christmas.

_Somewhere in there, you gotta fill in the blanks with a little faith._

"Absolutely," Vala replied without hesitation. 


	4. Present

Her forehead rested against the cool of the windowpane, and she stared out at the dull, slate gray sky and the still-empty driveway. As the first hard splatters collided with the glass, she shivered, almost able to feel the cold, wet wind that suddenly picked up the plastic lid of the wading pool and sent it skittering across the yard. She felt her mother's weight slide onto the couch cushion behind her, but she swallowed twice and didn't turn, warm tears now tracking their way down her cheeks.

"He'll be here," she heard close to her ear as strong, gentle arms wound around her. She melted backward, snuggling into the inviting softness of her mother's breast.

"He promised," she sniffed with a nod of agreement, comforted already by the familiar, vanilla-scented closeness. A hand smoothed over her hair, then slid down to caress her back in slow, tender circles.

"Why don't you go and play with your friends?" her mother suggested. "I'll keep watch for a while."

She swallowed again, turning to peer into the kitchen, where a crowd of children were gathered around the festively decorated table or playing party games. "Someone's missing there, too," she said glumly.

Her mother sighed, bending to kiss the top of her hair. "This really _is_ turning out to be an awful birthday, isn't it?" she murmured. "Daddy's gone _and_ your best friend's moved away."

She nodded, coiling her arms tightly around her mother's neck. "Why does Dakara have to be so far?" she whispered tightly. "It's not fair, Mom!

"No, it's not…" her mother began, then suddenly tensed. "Look!"

She twisted in her mother's arms, then let out a squeal of delight. The dirty red pickup pulled into the driveway, and she tore off the couch, racing outside as the two men climbed out. Heedless now of the icy wind or the rain pelting her through the new dress she wore, she flung herself across the yard and into her father's arms.

"Dad! You did come home!"

"I wouldn't be anywhere else, Manda," Daniel said, kneeling to look up at her. "Uncle Jack and I just had to bring back your present."

"What present?" she frowned, looking from him to the grinning, white-haired man a few feet away.

"C'mon," Jack said, gesturing for her to follow as he walked around to the back of the truck.

She ran off after him, trailed by Daniel, who stooped to pick her up when they reached the truck bed. Jack reached for the wet tarp, snapping it back with a flourish.

"Ta-da!" he exclaimed, revealing the unmistakable, stoic form of a Jaffa warrior, who rose from the familiar meditative position with slow grace and offered her a bow.

"Teal'c!" she cried, launching herself from Daniel's arms to his. "You're back from Dakara!"

Despite the awkwardness of the way they were standing, Teal'c caught her easily, and allowed a momentary smile to cross his face. "Indeed I am, AmandaJackson." 


	5. Forgotten

He didn't sleep well that night. Vala listened to him toss and turn for a while and finally wrapped her arms around him, snuggling soothingly against his back. Her warmth and softness settled him for a while, and he managed to drift off, but found himself awake again a few hours later. He slipped as quietly as he could out of bed and made his way down the hall to their daughter's empty room.

She'd forgotten Fitzgibbon, which somehow made the fact of the sleepover even more nerve-wracking and lonesome for him. He walked over to pick up the dilapidated giraffe, which had done guard duty on her pillow since she was barely a day old. One of the brown felt eyes had fallen off now, and there were more than a few threadbare patches. Daniel smiled fondly and fluffed the pillow before he set it down again, trying to make it seem a little less forlorn.

In the morning, he jumped up whenever the phone rang, sure it would be Manda calling for a ride home despite having permission to stay at her friend's house until after lunch. The third time it wasn't, Vala finally shooed him outside with a box of old, chipped dishes, scratched silverware, and assorted empty perfume bottles to bury in what had once been their back yard, but had long since become the Jackson family archaeological dig site. He was still working when the sound of a car pulling up in front told him that she had to be home, and forced himself not to run around to the other side of the house.

"Hey, Monkey!" he called, then winced as he remembered he wasn't supposed to use that nickname in front of her friends anymore. She didn't react though, racing over to fling her arms around him.

"Hi, Daddy," she planted a loud kiss on his cheek, then wriggled away, running toward the house.

Daniel's jaw dropped in surprise. "Hey, where are you going?" he called after her.

"Gotta get ready!" she replied without turning.

"Wh--" Daniel stammered, bewildered and more than a little hurt. "For what now?"

The only answer was the slamming of the screen door. It bounced twice behind her, and Daniel checked a sigh, forcing himself through the obligatory small talk with her friend's mother. About halfway through the conversation, he suddenly realized how filthy he must have looked, and hoped the woman would assume he'd been gardening or something. Fortunately, she didn't ask, and after she left, he wandered dejectedly over to the stoop and sat down with his head in his hands.

The door creaked behind him, and he looked up, smiling a little as Vala squeezed out and lowered herself down next to him. She smiled knowingly and slipped her arm around him, but before they could speak, Manda's footsteps came charging back through the house toward them.

"Are you ready?" she asked, bouncing back out onto the steps, now dressed in the worn old pair of jeans and grungy t-shirt Vala allowed her to keep only for dig purposes, with an equally worn bandana tied securely on her head. 


	6. Fleeting

Leaning against the doorframe, Daniel rested his forehead on his arm, half-smiling at the kids in the yard. Vala and Sam had taken Manda to get the second set of holes in her ears despite his objections--not, he told himself firmly, that he was one of those insane fathers who just wouldn't approve of his little girl having pierced ears; an eleven year old girl just didn't _need_ two sets of piercings. Vala, of course disagreed, and Manda naturally knew which parent to ask. They'd decided to make a girl's day of it, which had left him and Jack in nominal charge of the boys. Not that either of them really needed to do much watching. Carter and Nicky would've been content to climb the back yard tree with Teal'c until long after dark.

"Hey," Jack called from the table. "It's your move."

Daniel's head shot up and he turned, startled. "Oh, sorry," he murmured, walking back over to examine the chess board.

"Whatsamatter with you?" Jack wanted to know.

"Huh? Nothing…I just can't believe the summer's half over already," Daniel replied.

"Yeah, it'll be good to have them back in school," Jack nodded.

"I dunno," Daniel shrugged, sliding back into his seat. "Seems like it comes faster every year."

"That's a problem?" Jack asked pointedly.

"Well, I just--I haven't had much of a chance to spend time with Nicky this year at _all,_" Daniel bit his lip. "I keep meaning to; I don't know what happens."

"Carter and I are going fishing this weekend," Jack shrugged. "Real fishing, I mean, not in the pond. Why don't you guys tag along?"

"Fishing?" Daniel's eyebrows rose. "Jack, I honestly don't know why any kid would want to go fishing. I mean, you gotta get up in the middle of the night. Then you go sit in a boat in the dark, freezing to death, and you can't _say_ anything without scaring the fish away. The only thing that gets Nicky out of bed before 10 in the summer is Saturday morning cartoons…"

"…and the only thing that shuts him up is a book in his hand," Jack laughed, receiving a half-serious glare from Daniel for his trouble. "Look, it's not about what you're doing, Daniel. A kid just wants to hang out with you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Daniel nodded. "By the way. Checkmate."

"What?" Jack's jaw dropped and he stared down at the board in front of him. "How?"

------

"Manda…" Nicky called with a touch of despair in his voice. Without waiting for her to answer, he poked his head in the door, this time willing to risk the lecture about invading her privacy.

She spun quickly away from the wall mirror, her hand dropping away from her ear, and she opened her mouth to complain, but frowned instead at the sight of him. "What's wrong?" she asked, walking over to the trash can to throw away the cotton ball she was holding.

Nicky squeezed through the door, pushing it shut with his back. "Daddy wants to go fishing with Carter and Uncle Jack."

"He what?" she narrowed an eye, mouth popping open in surprise.

"He wants to go fishing with Uncle Jack and Carter this weekend," Nicky repeated, covering his face with his hands. "What am I gonna do!?!"

"Nick, you gotta tell him you hate fishing," Manda told him.

"But I can't. He's all excited," Nicky sighed.

"Well…um…you could get a headache?" she suggested.

"He never believes mom when she does that," Nicky reminded her.

"Yeah, you're right," Manda bit her lip thoughtfully. Before she could say anything, though, their father's voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs.

"Nicky, Manda! Supper!"

"Coming!" she yelled back automatically.

Nicky pulled the door open again and they both clattered down the stairs to where Daniel still waited. "Did you wash your hands?" he asked them, slipping a hand lightly onto each of their shoulders as they walked into the kitchen.

"Mmm-hmm," both kids lied.

"You all had better appreciate how long I slaved over a hot stove today," Vala was saying as she set the platter of roast chicken down on the table. "And in this heat, too!"

"It smells great, babe," Daniel replied with genuine gratitude. "Really can't believe you found time for this."

Nicky and Manda's eyes met as they scrambled into their chairs, but neither said anything. Vala, however, wasn't so generous. "Go wash your hands," she told them without looking at either.

"Vala, they said they--" began Daniel, but stopped short as Nicky let out a familiar complaint.

"Aw, c'mon, Mom!"

Vala's eyebrows rose and she peered imperiously at both of them, pointing a finger. "Go. Wash. Your hands."

"Couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?" Manda rolled her eyes, sliding off the chair again.

"Not really, no," Nicky retorted, ducking to avoid the hand that swatted toward the back of his head.

He followed Manda up the hall to the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind them. "Can you talk to Dad for me?" he asked as she turned on the faucet.

"What am I supposed to say?" she asked.

"I dunno, tell him you want him to take you to the museum again," Nicky suggested.

"That's not gonna work," Manda shook her head knowingly. "He wants to do something with you."

"Well, tell him he can take you this weekend and go to my soccer game next weekend or something, then."

"He always goes to your soccer games, Nicky. That's not special," objected Manda.

"Ok, what about--" began Nicky, breaking off as the door slid open and Vala's head came around it.

"Everything all right in here?" she asked suspiciously.

"Fine, Mom," Manda shrugged, reaching behind her for a towel to dry her hands.

"Supper's getting cold," Vala said, eyeing them both carefully.

"Be right there," Nicky told her, casually grabbing the towel as Manda went to swat him with it.

------

Daniel wasn't surprised to hear the screen door slam and a pair of sandaled feet race out to catch up with him. He hefted the trash bag, swinging it lightly into the barrel at the curb as Manda appeared beside him. As it landed, the edge of a familiar looking cardboard container poked through the plastic, and he paused, staring at it. Frowning, he worked his finger into the hole and split the bag open enough to confirm his suspicion.

"Boston Market," he nodded to himself. "Yeah, she slaved over a hot stove all right."

"Well," Manda spoke up, eyes crinkling in amusement. "She did stand in line for twenty minutes. It was busy in there."

"You knew what she--?" Daniel turned in disbelief.

"You mad at me?" Manda asked.

"No," Daniel sighed.

"Mad at me about the earrings?" she asked, biting her lip.

Daniel frowned. "Your mother did say yes. Don't know why I'd be mad at you."

"Mad at Mom, then?" she asked candidly.

Daniel tilted his head in thought, bottom lip jutting out, and he shrugged, more confirmation than denial, and Manda looked away for a moment. "Dad, can we go to the museum this weekend?" she asked abruptly, and he felt a touch of relief for the change in subject.

"I'm sorry, monkey, Nicky and I are going fishing this weekend," he shook his head.

"But Nicky doesn't even--" she started to say, then caught herself as Daniel raised an eyebrow. With an inward sigh, she shifted her tone just to the edge of entreaty. "Please, Daddy? Can't you take Nicky another time? I really want to see Nefretiri again before the exhibit closes."

"Manda, we've seen that exhibit four times," Daniel reminded her, frowning.

"I like it," she asserted. "C'mon, Dad, you don't really want to spend the whole weekend listening to Uncle Jack snore."

"No, I don't," Daniel chuckled, turning toward the house as the screen door opened again.

"Daniel, Jack's on the phone," Vala called.

"Right there," he replied, then turned to look at Manda, who was chewing a lock of hair in thought. Absently reaching to remove it from her mouth, he said, "Listen, next weekend we'll do something, okay?"

"All right," she sighed, following him back up the front steps. Vala's hand moved lightly to brush the top of her hair as she slid inside, but she didn't pause, and Daniel frowned again, certain that her sudden rush up the stairs would mean that she and her brother were up to something he wouldn't like.

------

Nicky dropped his book and ran to the bedroom door as soon as he heard Manda's footsteps on the stairs. He pulled it open and grabbed her arm, yanking her inside before she'd even had a chance to knock. She immediately yanked away, glaring at him pointedly, but he didn't step back.

"C'mon, Manda, what did he say?" he asked urgently.

"I told you it wouldn't work," she sighed.

Nicky let out a groan and walked back to the bed, collapsing onto it with a loud sigh of his own. "Now what?" he asked.

"You could try telling him the truth," Manda suggested.

"I told you, I can't!" Nicky insisted. "He was all, 'Won't this be great! Just us guys…hangin' out…doin' guy stuff?' How am I supposed to tell him all I wanna do is stay home?"

"He actually said that?" Manda's eyes went wide. 

"Yep."

"Our Dad? " she tilted her head skeptically. 

"The one and only," Nicky sighed again.

"Geez, Nick. You really are doomed," Manda declared. "There's, like, no escape."

"Thanks a lot," Nicky replied, shooting her an annoyed look.

She grinned apologetically and wandered over to pick up a plastic paddle ball from the shelf beside Millennium Falcon model and began to absently bat it around. "Maybe Mom could tell him?" she offered.

"Yeah, but he'd still be disappointed," Nicky shook his head, picking up his book again.

Neither spoke for a while, and Nicky rolled onto his side, propping his head on his elbow to read. Every few minutes, though, Manda lost her rhythm, and it took her at least three tries to get the ball going again. The noise made it impossible to become engrossed in the book, and finally he slapped it down on the bed beside him, shoving his fingers through his hair.

"Would you stop that?" he snapped.

"What?" she asked innocently.

------

Vala was leaning on the doorframe as he hung up the phone, her head tilted casually to one side. He opened his mouth to say something about the chicken and found he didn't want to, instead walking over to gently kiss her exposed neck. "So what are you ladies going to do while we're off on this fishing…thing?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Fly to Paris…run up some credit card bills," she said teasingly. "Maybe find some handsome European to buy us roses?"

"Very funny," he growled against her skin. Her hands slid slowly up to his shoulders, but a moment later, she pushed him back, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What?"

"Daniel, _why_ are you taking him fishing?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Of all the things I could think of for the pair of you to do together, fishing is the last. No. Fishing doesn't even make the list," Vala shook her head.

"Yeah, but you should've heard him when Jack and I told him," Daniel sighed quietly. "He was all, 'Oh, yeah, Dad--I can't wait. It'll be awesome!' I can't back out of it now."

"Nicky said that?" Vala asked, frowning.

"Mmm, why?" he nodded.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "It just doesn't seem like something he'd enjoy."

"I guess Jack's right; it's more about the hanging out than the actual fishing," Daniel mused. "Anyway, I'd better go up and talk to him. Jack wants to leave insanely early."

"You could get a headache," Vala suggested half seriously.

"Right," Daniel rolled his eyes, turning to head up the stairs.

"What?" she called after him. "It works for me."

"It does not," he replied, stifling a laugh at her offended huff.

Outside Nicky's bedroom, he raised his hand to knock and froze with his knuckles still in the air as a loud,

_"Would you stop that?"_ issued from the of the door.

"What?" Manda asked, clearly oblivious to whatever was bothering him

"You with that paddle ball!" Nicky exclaimed. "Every time I start getting into my book, you miss and have to start over."

"So?" Manda retorted.

"It's just--distracting, Manda!" Nicky said with an exasperated sigh. Daniel stifled another laugh, his thoughts turning to the rather distracting presence of their mother sitting on his worktable at the SGC, and pushed open the door.

"Hey, Nick--"

Manda whirled to face the door and Nicky bolted upright in bed, both kids staring at him with wide-eyed surprise. Manda recovered first and tossed her head in annoyance. "Geez, Dad. Knock much?

"Shut up, Manda, it's not even your room," Nicky glared at her.

"You shut up!" she snapped back.

"All right, all right," Daniel closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Hey, it's not my room," Manda shrugged, going back to her paddle ball.

"Right," Daniel bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing again at the glare Nicky leveled at her. "Anyway, Nicky, Uncle Jack says that we need to meet our fellow… fishermen… at the lake _no later_ than three AM."

"Three?" Nicky's eyes widened again, and Daniel momentarily thought he saw a way out.

"You sure you can handle that?" he asked. "Because if not, I need to let Uncle Jack know we're not coming."

"Oh…no, Dad, it's okay," Nicky shook his head. "I can be up."

"Are you sure?" Daniel persisted, not quite willing to let go of the fragile hope he felt.

"Positive, Dad," Nicky nodded firmly. "Don't worry about a thing!"

------

Nicky, in fact, wasn't up. Nor did he and Daniel make it to the lake by three AM. They were only about half an hour late, which apparently annoyed Jack not because they should have been on time but because he'd had the misfortune to lose a bet with Carter as to how late they would actually be. Having lost, he had earned himself the dubious honor of cleaning the day's catch.

"Y'know, under other circumstances, I might find that funny, Jack," Daniel commented as they trooped to the end of the dock where the rented boat waited. "At the moment, I'm sure it says something rather insulting about me, but I can't tell what."

"Maybe that you're about as much of a fisherman as Dad is an archaeologist, Uncle Daniel," Carter spoke up.

"That--that," Daniel started to say, then broke off thoughtfully. "That could actually be it."

"Oh, yeah?" Jack laughed. "What do you have to say about that, Nicky?"

"Huh?" Nicky mumbled absently, glancing Jack to his father and back again. "Oh, yeah, sure, Uncle Jack. Whatever."

Jack opened his mouth to reply stopped, frowning down at him. "Are you even awake?" he asked.

"Not really," Nicky yawned.

"Didn't think so," Jack replied, but said nothing else, for which Daniel was especially glad when they had to spend another forty-five minutes fumbling with life-jackets because Nicky seemed incapable of waking up.

The first hour or so on the boat, while indescribably boring, passed with relative ease. Nicky slumped against Daniel's side, and except for the occasional snore, did nothing to earn more than an irritated glance from Jack and a quiet snort of laughter from Carter. That changed, however, after sunrise, when both boys became fascinated with the swirling patterns of red-gold light on the water's surface.

Commendably, Jack tolerated this as well, at least until Nicky reached idly over the side of the boat to dangle his fingers in the water. "Nick, whaddaya doing?" he snapped before Daniel could do more than open his mouth. "You're gonna scare the fish!"

"And you yelling isn't?" Daniel glared as Nicky hurriedly pulled back his hand.

"Sorry, sorry, Uncle Jack," Nicky bit his lip. "I didn't mean to!"

"It's all right, Nick, it doesn't matter," Daniel told him quickly, shooting a quelling look at his friend.

"Whaddaya mean it doesn't matter?" Jack demanded. "Whaddaya think we got up in the middle of the night to drive out here for?"

"Funny, I thought this was supposed to be about us 'hangin' out, doin' guy things', not about whether we caught anything, Jack," Daniel responded.

"Well, maybe, Daniel, but if I wanted to spend my morning watching the kids make swirly sunlight patterns in the water, I coulda taken them to the science museum…" Jack broke off with a sigh.

"For cryin' out loud, Dad, he said sorry," Carter mumbled, shaking his head.

"Yeah. Look, Nicky, I'm sorry," Jack said, but Nicky's eyes by then had begun to fill with tears.

"Dad…?" he said in a quavering tone. "I hate fishing!"

------

They got home just as Vala and Manda were leaving for a day of mall-hoping. Mother and daughter took one look at the returning pair, gave a mutual sigh, and left without a word. Daniel raised his eyebrows slightly, looking down at his son.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"No idea," Nicky shrugged.

"Hungry?" Daniel asked, his hand lightly touching the boy's back as they walked into the kitchen.

"Mmmm," Nicky nodded once, hurrying to the table.

"What do you feel like?" Daniel asked casually, walking over to open the cabinets.

"Froot Loops," Nicky replied.

"Just Froot Loops?" Daniel asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Love Froot Loops," Nicky nodded.

"Uncle Jack doesn't," Daniel smirked.

"I heard…"

After breakfast, they spent the majority of the day on the living room floor with books in hand. Vala and Manda found them there as the sun began to fade again, Daniel stretched out on his side with Nicky's back propped against his stomach. Manda started in, but Vala caught her quickly by the shoulder, raising a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. She jerked her head toward the door, and Manda grinned, following her back out to the car, certain that neither of them would even guess they'd been watched. 


End file.
